CONCRETE OBSESSIONS 2011: March 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

hanging I

today we experimented with different ways of creating form through hanging. we kept our ideas of density and porosity in mind but were mainly focusing on technique. we used a wire mesh screen and followed through with a few actions: adding dry Rockite powder layers and spraying water on top, releasing already-mixed Rockite over the mesh in a pattern, creating three dimensional forms with the mesh and pouring the Rockite mixture on top. next time we are going to use the grasshopper geometry we've been working on to inspire experiments more focused on creating form through our ideas of density, porosity and aggregation. kind of opposite of what we did today, we will be using an image to inform the pour.

chain mail

for our group project, i wanted to see if i could make concrete chain mail and hang it. because of a poor Quikrete mixture (which i have never cast with before) and little cooperation fromy my milled foam mold, the pieces of the chain kept breaking. in the end the chain mail was not possible also because of the thickness of the pieces relative to their size.

here is a youtube video on how chain mail pieces link together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI6zqS1SuSg&feature=related

materials: Quikrete mixture, blue foam, vaseline

formless III

this test takes the formless studies into three dimensions. by getting the Rockite mixture to the right consistency, and layering strips while it is still wet, a three-dimensional structure takes form. the view of the bottom of the cast reminds me of lincoln logs. concrete lincoln logs.

materials:Rockite mixture, Ziploc bags